Istanbul Turkey

This is the city of Istanbul Turkey. We flew to Turkey to meet the ship to start our cruise. We were able to walk around the city some. Mostly we went to the Blue Mosque, one of the most prominent landmarks of Istanbul with it's impressive domes and semi domes. We walked to the Grand bazaar with over 6000 shops. The Turks were real pushy there trying to sell you everything from leather goods to rugs. Joanna did find a chain and charm in one shop that she bought. Walking the streets will give you a workout. We stayed at the Orient Express hotel which was pretty nice and cozy as you can see in the pictures. The Turks you see in white are called The Whirling Dervish. They whirl in circles for about an hour as a religious dance with their eyes closed.